The Present Disclosure relates, generally, to a poke-in connector configured so that a wire can be contacted at the same time it is locked to a terminal, solely by the action of poking the wire into the terminal, and, more particularly, it relates to a poke-in connector that facilitates locking and unlocking of a wire.
Generally, conventional electrical devices contain connectors having a form such that the terminal that is connected to a wire is soldered to the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), and is surrounded by an insulative housing. These connectors include “poke-in connectors,” wherein the wire is locked to the terminal and contacted solely by the action of pushing the wire into the terminal. Examples of conventional poke-in connectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,513,793, entitled “Low Profile Surface Mount Poke-in Connector,” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,328,586, entitled “Actuating Device for an Electrical Connection Terminal.” The content of each of these Applications are hereby incorporated herein in their entireties.
With the connector disclosed in the '793 Patent, it is straightforward to push the wire into the terminal, but separating the wire from the terminal is somewhat difficult. Specifically, in order to detach the wire, a sharp tool must first be placed in the hole formed on the top of the housing, and then the terminal holding the wire must be pressed to release the clamping force, which is inconvenient. In addition, it is structurally difficult to press the terminal with the tool.
The connector disclosed in the '586 Patent has the advantage that the process of pushing the wire into the terminal and separating it from the terminal is more straightforward than in the '793 Patent. Specifically, the wire can easily be separated from the terminal by simply pressing the pusher arm formed on the insulator housing using a fingertip, screwdriver, etc. Despite this advantage, because the pusher arm is bent upward after extending to the side, the connector disclosed in the '586 Patent has considerable risk that the bent portion will suffer increased fatigue during repeated use. In addition, when the pusher arm is pressed, the degree to which the terminus of the arm is moved down is not consistent. Accordingly, if the pushing force is great, the wire can readily be separated from the terminal, while if the pushing force is slight, it is difficult for the wire to be separated from the terminal.